Step Forward Activities marks 50 years in Baker City

Step Forward Activities has reached its 50-year mark in Baker City, but the bigger story is what it still does every day for Baker County residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The nonprofit’s work reaches into housing, supported living, day services and jobs, the practical supports that help clients stay connected to family, work and community life.

Maelene Briscoe’s smile put a human face on that milestone. It was a reminder that Step Forward is not an abstract institution or a ceremonial anniversary story. It is a local provider that helps people build routines, earn wages, find a place to live and keep those arrangements stable over time.

Step Forward Activities, Inc. says it provides employment and day services, residential services and supported living services to people with I/DD. Its employment and day-services work includes discovery, job development, job placement and job coaching. Its residential program operates residences in Baker County and says it is focused on rights, community inclusion and person-centered planning. The organization has operated since 1976.

That history matters because the need has not gone away. In 2025, Step Forward said it operated group homes supervised 24 hours a day, along with a day-support program and help for clients living on their own. In practice, that means the organization is serving people across several levels of independence, from staffed homes to supports for people who live in the community.

The pressure point now is housing. In April 2024, Step Forward bought the former DMV and Oregon State Police building at 1050 S. Bridge St. for $509,900 and projected about $1 million in renovations. The plan is to turn the vacant building, empty for more than 15 years, into seven studio apartments for clients. That project underscores how limited local options can be for adults who need support but still want to live with more independence.

Step Forward’s work also fits into a broader state framework. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services says the Oregon Forward Program is meant to help people with physical, mental and developmental disabilities move toward maximum personal independence through productive employment. For Baker County, that mission shows up in local jobs, local homes and local support systems that keep people from having to leave the community to get help.

The organization’s scale has also changed over time. In 2010, Step Forward employed 47 full-time staff, operated five group homes and ran a manufacturing plant that provided work in trash-bag production, printer-cartridge recycling and related ventures. Together, those details show a nonprofit that has long combined care and work, and that now continues adapting as Baker City’s needs evolve.